Is Singapore scary?
Singapore used to be a powerhouse of Southeast Asian football, but that is a story in the past. At this time, the Lion Island football team no longer has quality naturalized players and even excellent domestic players. In the group stage of AFF Cup 2024, coach Ogura and his team often have “luck” together, especially in matches with direct competitors for second place in the group. In the match against Cambodia, goalkeeper Vireak Dara made two serious personal mistakes, helping Singapore win 2-1.
If they play properly against the Singapore team, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team will be in the finals
When it came to the match against the Malaysian team, Singapore mainly “suffered”. They had to endure 20 shots, including 5 good opportunities. Fortunately for Singapore, they have goalkeeper Izwan Mahbuz who plays excellently, according to statistics from the Company Sofascore scored 7.9 points (highest in the match) and Malaysia’s strikers lacked sharpness. Even when facing a weak opponent, Timor Leste, Singapore did not perform too well. All 3 goals they scored came after the 75th minute, a time when Timor Leste players were losing their physical strength.
If they compete properly, the ticket to the finals is within reach of the Vietnamese team. Coach Kim Sang-sik and his team just “showed off” their strength with a 5-0 victory over Myanmar and an impressive performance from rookie Nguyen Xuan Son. But it seems that the “Golden Star Warriors” have not yet reached their full potential when coach Kim Sang-sik used 4 different frames in 4 matches in the group stage, meaning that the strongest squad of the Vietnamese team has not yet appeared. It is very possible that the Korean strategist will “turn his cards up” in the upcoming confrontation with Singapore.
But the Vietnamese team cannot be subjective. First, Quang Hai and his teammates had to play on the artificial turf of Jalan Besar, where we only had a 0-0 draw in the group stage of AFF Cup 2022. Next, Thanh Chung and the team’s central defenders. Vietnam needs to guard against quick counterattacks stemming from Singapore’s long passes. They scored a surprising goal against the Thai team according to that scenario. In addition, Singapore’s main strikers are all in high form: Shawal Anuar scored 4 goals, leading the top scorer list and Faris Ramli scored 2 goals.
Meanwhile, compared to the Vietnamese team, Thailand’s performance in the group stage was even more impressive. “War Elephants” is the only team to win all 4 matches and score 18 goals. They are not absolutely dominant, they also experienced difficult moments in the confrontations with Malaysia and Singapore, but they all know how to overcome them thanks to their bravery and experience. Those are the qualities of a top championship candidate. Not stopping there, the Thai team’s attack is playing extremely well. They have 3 strikers who have scored 3 goals in this tournament: Suphanat, Teerasak and Gustavsson. The players who scored 2 goals were Pumwisat, Ben Davis and Ratree. In addition, coach Masatada Ishii also has quality additions in the semi-finals in the form of two stars Ekanit Panya and Supachok Sarachat, players with experience playing in J-League 1.
